The Work of God

Music: "What This World Needs" by Casting Crowns

The perfect devotional reading greeted me a good morning as I was outlining in my head the things I need to do today (which include, but not limited to, reading and organizing the fifty or more columns I received for a side project, meet up with my friends, finish another blog post I've started weeks ago about the last play we produced, and, uhh, go jogging).

"It's not easy to stop trusting ourselves and rely on Christ. In this world, the message we hear is that value comes from what we do, what we earn, and what we accomplish. If we believe that, life becomes a prolonged struggle to fix everything that's broken and strive for perfection in all we do, we'll be driven and compulsive, busier than God ever meant us to be, trying to do extremely well what He never intended us to do."

Admittedly, I find it hard to rely on others, especially when it comes to tasks I need to finish. My way of thinking usually goes like this: "I better do this or that, since I know best what output I want. Besides, why bother other people when it's something I can accomplish by myself?" And often I find myself at the verge of burning out, cranky and moody, because I have too much on my plate. Plus I sound a little conceited. Like, give me your best shot, world, I can take it.

And that's just it. I can't always take it.

"Jesus was never that busy. Throughout His public ministry, He had much to do and only a little more that 3 years to do it, yet His pace was measured and deliberate.
"And so it comes to this: God's work must be done by God. We work, but we must rely on Him every step of the way."

 And so I love the little reminder highlighted in bold. God's work must be done by God. It reminds me of that famous Psalty's song:

It's not by might

Nor by power

But by my spirit

It's not by might

Nor by power

Says the Lord

It's not by my own power, but by God's spirit that I can do anything.

"Before you do anything else, begin your day by expressing your dependence on God. Ask Him to help you rely on Him. Growing faith, like any other job, is a job for God!"

And so my prayer is:

Lord, forgive me for depending too much on myself and too little on You. Thank you for reminding me that it's not by my own might that I can accomplish the  things I need to do, but by your spirit. Please help me be more dependent on you, and to let you do your work through me. Amen.